For a division that includes the Super Bowl champion, the AFC East is wide open in 2015.
Buffalo Bills
2014: finished regular season 9-7 (2nd in division)
Offence: the Bills looked to have an offence to be feared, outside of one position, the most important position of quarterback. What appeared to be a three way competition between Tyrod Taylor, E.J Manuel and Matt Cassel now looks to be down to two following a poor performance by Manuel in the first preseason game. Injuries to their top running backs of LeSean McCoy and Karlos Williams along with a rumoured hip injury to wideout Percy Harvin have the Bills offence looking shaky, in particular the hamstring injury to former Philadelphia Eagle McCoy, who shaped to be the key plank of the offence.
Defence: the cornerstone of the team, rated the 4th best in terms of yards and points conceded. Against the pass they conceded the 3rd fewest yards and the least touchdowns at just one per game. This can only improve under first year defensive minded head coach Rex Ryan.
Fantasy player to watch: with the injuries on offence, the focus will shift to second year wide receiver Sammy Watkins. If Watkins can build a great combination with Taylor or Cassel, he can have a monster year.
Key to their success/failure: the defence will be great once again, the key to this team’s success will be the offence, its health and the ability to get some decent play from the quarteback position.
Predicted regular season finish: 9-7
Miami Dolphins
2014 : finished regular season 8-8 (3rd in division)
Offence: behind quarterback Ryan Tannehill, Miami’s offence has improved year on year. Tannehill is expected to take the leap to the upper echelon of quarterbacks in his fourth year and certainly has the weapons to get him there, including a receiving corp of Jarvis Landry, Greg Jenning, highly touted rookie Devante Parker and tight end Jordan Cameron. Lamar Miller, coming off the back of his first 1,000 yards season in 2014, leads the running game. Jay Ajayi was drafted in the 5th round out of Boise State to provide back up to Miller, however is battling a knee injury that threatens to curtail his rookie season.
Defence: an already solid defence, led by defensive end Cameron wake, added one of the best players in the league to it in free agency this summer. Ndamukong Suh brings a pedigree of size, speed and nastiness to a team that needed help against the run.
Fantasy player to watch: Tannehill is a great quarterback option in the later rounds
Key to their success/failure: a year ago, the Dolphins defence was just 12th in total yards, but 19th in points conceded, the ability to keep touchdowns to field goals and field goals to punts will be critical.
Predicted regular season finish: 10-6
New England Patriots
2014: finished regular season 12-4 (won division), Super Bowl champions
Offence: will be an interesting year for the champions. Tom Brady is currently suspended for the first four games and the ability of back up Jimmy Garoppolo to fill in is in question following an underwhelming first preseason game. The running and receiving players will get the job done as usual. The most important player is tight end Rob Gronkowski. If he plays every week and remains fit, Gronk will lead the Pats offence no matter who is under centre.
Defence: the potential weak point for the champions, lost cornerbacks Darelle Revis and Brandon Browner and defensive tackle Vince Wilfork through free agency. Whether they can remain a top ten rated defence following these losses will depend on the ability of the replacements to step into the void. One of these is Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Butler.
Fantasy player to watch: Gronkowski is the best fantasy tight end by the length of the street. Just how high he goes in drafts is worth watching and drafting if you get the chance.
Key to their success/failure: the ability of the defence to step up and cover the loss of Revis and Browner.
Predicted regular season finish: 11-5
New York Jets
2014: finished regular season 4-12 (4th in division)
Offence: the Jets offence has some good pieces in place. Wideouts Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker in addition to tight end Jace Amaro give the quarterback some nice pieces to connect with, while Chris Ivory, Stevan Ridley and Zac Satcy are not the worst trio of running backs. Just who that quarterback will be has been turned on its head in the past week following Geno Smith’s broken jaw sustained in a locker room altercation with a now former teammate.
Defence: the Jets defence was 6th in yards against a year ago, but was in the bottom 10 in points conceded. Addressed their need on the outside by bringing back former cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie. Suprisingly took boom defensive end Leonard Williams in the first round to provide a potent 1-2-3 punch with Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson, however a four game PED suspension to Richardson will propel Williams straight into the starting line up.
Fantasy player to watch:
Key to their success/failure: the ability of first year head coach Todd Bowles to keep the locker room as one.
Predicted regular season finish: 7-9
Predicted Divisional Standings
1. New England Patriots (11-5)
2. Miami Dolphins (10-6)
3. Buffalo Bills (9-7)
4. New York Jets (7-9)
Next up is the AFC West
Leave a Reply